Cynical
by ifithasapulse
Summary: She slicked on a layer of creamy red lipstick. It gleamed wetly, the deep hue shimmering slightly on full, slightly parted lips. "It is time to cut off our relationship."


She pulled her flaming hair up into a high ponytail, securing it with a black velvet ribbon. The ends swept her collarbones and a few loose curls framed her face, brushing against her temples. She spoke carefully and easily, the words flowing off her tongue like honey. "I know you don't like me."

He watched her mouth. "What makes you say that?"

Ginny slid a bobby pin into place, her brown eyes steadily studying her reflection as she worked. "This is a very unfortunate situation for the both us. I understand you're only trying to make the best of it. But, Malfoy, don't treat me like an idiot. I know I don't mean anything to you. It's okay. I don't wake up every morning with the intent of impressing you."

Draco stayed silent, leaning against the door frame.

"We don't even like each other, Malfoy. I know it, you know it. There's no point in denying it. All I want to know," she continued, smoothing down her hair with a bit of cream. "Is what you want to do about it."

"Do about it," he echoed, pushing himself off the doorframe. "I think we've got a great thing going for us, sugar. Why change a thing?"

"Because it can't last and I know you know how much I hate loose ends."

He eyed her, posture relaxed yet wary. "So what do you suggest? It can't get much simpler than this. I'm using you for your body and you're using me for mine. We don't have any feelings involved whatsoever. Doesn't sound like much of a loose end to me."

She slicked on a layer of creamy red lipstick. It gleamed wetly, the deep hue shimmering slightly on full, slightly parted lips. "It is time to cut off our relationship**.**"

The words were short, simple, blunt. Yet they were heavy, difficult to contemplate. "Why?"

"Because I don't want either of us getting attached," Ginny replied shortly. She plucked up a tiny vial from her dresser and dabbed a few drops of perfume behind her ears, neck and inner wrists. The scent of vanilla and peppermint filled the room.

"Trust me, sweetheart," Draco began carelessly. "I'm not getting attached to you. You're beautiful and smart and you're great for my image but in the end, we _are _both using each other. Sex is sex and nothing more."

"Believe me, I know. But in any case, I don't want to take any chances," she rebutted. She set the vial back down and plucked a thin gold chain from her jewelry box. A pendent of a phoenix dangled from the end. "I have a great job at the Ministry, you've got a great job as a journalist for the Daily Prophet, we're both intelligent, successful individuals with families and friends who love us. We'll be fine."

"Ginevra, you may be pretty to look at but your personality is still ugly as hell."

She shot him a pleased smile. "You confuse rationality with cold heartedness."

"Tell me, where did a little Gryffindor get all that cynical," Draco asked, stepping closer. He could smell the perfume wafting from her. He denied the urge to take a deeper sniff.

"Life is ugly," she responded easily. "First comes the ambition, then the ruthlessness. Before you know it, you're a cynic."

She gave a small shrug of her slender shoulders before returning to her reflection. She clipped on a pair of gold chandelier earrings, studded with diamonds. They brushed the tops of her bare shoulders, glittered seductively in the light.

"And yet you give to charities and spend your weekends at St. Mungo's," Draco pointed out, curiosity peaked. "You're a complicated woman."

"Aren't all women?"

"No. Some women are just like their male counterparts; exact clones of each other. But you, Ginevra, are full of conflicting characteristics."

"Just because I recognize that life is a bitch doesn't mean that I can't try to make it better," Ginny said, voice still even.

Draco stared at her in amusement. "You used to be so easy to get riled up," he murmured. "One little word, one little thing and you'd blow someone's head off."

"I still do," she replied, half smile emerging. Her brown eyes glittered with amusement and mischief. "The only difference is that now I do it when they aren't expecting it. Hurts more that way."

He watched her smooth on a layer on moisturizer. It left her skin dewy and soft. "So this is the end, is it?"

"Never was much to begin with," she shrugged. She slipped on a pair of heels. "If we used each other for only the other's body, how can we hold a grudge when it's time to move on?"

"Logical, of course," Draco replied. "It was a pleasure knowing you, Ginevra."

"Likewise."

He turned to look at her and decided then to, for once in his meticulously planned life, take a chance. "You've got your society party face on."

"Excuse me?"

"Ginny is stuck somewhere inside that pretty little head but this outside won't let her come out to play. She's trapped inside some jaded little princess who's too insecure to let anyone get close. So instead you have lovers and as soon as you think there might be something more, you break it off." Draco lowered his mouth to Ginny's ear, murmuring. "A heart doesn't have to stop beating to be dead, Ginevra. You're cold as ice when it comes to men and that's really too bad because you can have all the jobs you want, all the friends you want, all the money you can fit into a Gringott's vault but there will always be a hole in your chest where I should be."

"Don't pretend you know me."

"You can blame it on life, the economy, the world, serial killers. Or you can admit that you don't have the guts to take life as it comes so you close yourself off. There are a lot of things you can blame it on, Ginevra. Or you can just admit that you are a shit person."

"You want to know why I don't get attached," she spat out finally, eyes narrowed into slits. "You want to know why, Malfoy? Because if I do and I lose them, it hurts too much to deal with. I can't put myself through that. And if that makes me a coward then so be it."

"Poor little Ginevra," Draco taunted, desperate for a reaction. Anything. "You still want your happy ever after, don't you? Even if you don't want to admit it, you know you do."

"You asked me about how I got this jaded," she replied, voice shaking. "Well, here it is. Once upon a time, a long time ago, I got hurt. Really badly. And now, when there is even an inkling of a chance for it to happen again, a part of me shuts off."

"Your loss."

"I deliberately taught myself not to trust people. I purposely closed off. I consciously became jaded. And I don't regret any of it."

"Oh, you will one day. You will."

He drew back, smoky eyes resting on her simmering chocolate ones. "You know where to find me if you change your mind."

He walked out the door, whistling.

* * *

**I honestly don't know if this made sense at all or if it was just a bunch of random ramblings. I read lots of DG fics where Draco is the jaded one and Ginny tries to help him. So I wondered how it would work if I flipped it around. And I'm not quite sure why i decided to use Ginevra instead of Ginny. But hopefully you enjoyed this. Please leave a review!**


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